TRACK & FIELD: Waynesboro, G-A compete at Ship Invitational

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Waynesboro Record Herald - Waynesboro, PA

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Posted Apr. 22, 2013 at 11:00 AM

Posted Apr. 22, 2013 at 11:00 AM

SHIPPENSBURG — Consider it a valuable tune-up for what's to come.

Qualified members from the Waynesboro and Greencastle-Antrim track and field teams competed at the Shippensburg Invitational on Saturday, bringing together top-tier talent from around the area, posing as a early barometer for the District 3 Championships in May.

With the elevated level of competition, several local athletes rose to the occasion, providing plenty of optimism for the upcoming postseason.

The best performances of the day came in the jumps, with Waynesboro's Lilly Harnish and G-A's Austin Scott both recording runner-up finishes in their respective events.

Harnish cleared 5-2 in the girls' high jump while Scott leaped 21-4.75 in the boys' long jump, coming half an inch short of Penn Manor's Adrian Viruet.

Taylor Kirkpatrick also had a standout day for the Blue Devils, tying the winning height of 6-4 in the boys' high jump but was rewarded a fourth-place finish due to number of attempts.

Waynesboro's Johnnie Adgers finished ninth in both the high and long jumps while G-A's Ashton Rockwell and Waynesboro's Hollister Rolls placed sixth and seventh in the girls' 100 hurdles.

The Blue Devils also had solid showings in the relay events, as the girls' 4x800 team of Nikki Garns, Jane Herman, Lauren Powers and Shelby Stouffer placed fifth with a time of 10:13. The boys' 4x100 team of Scott, Kirkpatrick, Eli Bock and Devin Statler crossed the line sixth in 44.22.

"I was very pleased with how our kids competed," G-A head coach Devin McCauley said. "The conditions were tough with the wind, but we really had some nice performances. This invitational is always a good indicator of where you stand against district-caliber talent."

Other promising individual performances were turned in by Waynesboro's Kiki Hodge-Shindledecker (9th in girls' 200), Carrie Mowen (10th in high jump) and Andrew Paterno (11th in shot put) along with G-A's Daulton Monn (9th in 2000 steeplechase) and Garns (12th in 800).

Chambersburg recorded two event victories on the day, as Marshay Ryan won the girls' long jump by more than one foot (18-2.75) while Kellen Williams claimed the 300 meter hurdles.

For James Buchanan, Peter Hughey finished second in the boys' 400 and Liam Corcoran placed third in the 3200 meter run.

Waynesboro and G-A return to dual meet action against one another on Tuesday. The meet is set to begin at 3:30 in Waynesboro.